David Hasselhoff has announced he's officially changed his name to David Hoff - but is it genuine?

The former Baywatch actor - who is nicknamed The Hoff - claims he has wanted to make the change for years and has overjoyed to have undergone the change.

Announcing his new moniker in a YouTube video, he said: "I've been wanting to drop the Hassel from my life for years. Now I have made it official."

And the 63-year-old star - who showed off framed documents bearing his new surname - is feeling "great" thanks to his shortened name.

He tweeted: "Big news today and a massive relief for me. I hope everyone can understand... it feels great!"

David recently admitted he is worried the forthcoming Baywatch movie will be a "joke" and would only agree to appear in the much-discussed movie alongside Zac Efron if it were to remain true to the original storyline.

Asked if he's been offered a role in the movie, David said: "I don't really know [if I'm in it]. I don't really know if I want to be in it."

David also said he'd previously been offered the chance to appear in a movie version of another of his TV shows, Knight Rider, but was unimpressed with the script.

Is it genuine or just part of a rather clever ad campaign?

He added: "You know, I saw a Knight Rider script and I hated it. The girl said, 'What did you think?' And I said, 'When it got to my part the script flew out of my hand.' I never saw it again.

"You know, if Knight Rider is true to Knight Rider, I would do it. If Baywatch is going to be a joke, I don't think so.

"I might do Baywatch the musical or something like that. Make it something as close to what it was. They laughed at it but they still loved it. I don't want it to be a joke."